WHAT:

This month marks the anniversary of the collapse of the U.S. financial system that sent America into a tailspin. One year later the American labor force is still feeling the pain as 27 U.S. states are hitting new levels of unemployment, with California and Nevada reaching record levels of joblessness. Yet, in spite of alarming constraints on the job market, the Internet sector is one of the few areas that continue to thrive and provide opportunity in this challenging economic environment.

While Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said recently that “the ‘technical’ U.S. recession is most likely over,” the actual light of recovery is still dim for many under-to-unemployed Americans. However, current market conditions and new technologies are giving way to a more location-flexible workforce as personal outsourcing (people who regularly contribute their expertise to specified, readily available job assignments within structured, virtual work environments) is on the rise. The abundance of skilled professionals putting their talent to work in a freelance capacity currently makes up more than 25 percent of the working population (according to Kelly Services).

The Demand Studios^® content production and publication service empowers individuals to put their passion, experience and available time into producing articles and videos for the Web and beyond from a virtual workplace. Demand Studios currently pays out more than $1 million every month (approximately $40,000/day) to more than 5000 qualified freelance writers, editors and filmmakers who are able to work at their own pace, on their own time and still have guaranteed income on a weekly basis. Without a regular commute, these people are also helping the environment and saving money in the process.

A complete B-roll package is available to document this growing trend, and to demonstrate how qualified American professionals are generating and/or increasing their income via personal outsourcing their skills here in the U.S. in the Internet Age.

WHY:

• Nearly 7 million people have lost their regular jobs since the beginning of the recession

• The nation's unemployment rate has skyrocketed from 6.2% to today's rate of 9.7% (the highest since 1983)

• In August 2009 alone, the number of unemployed persons in the U.S. increased by 466,000 to 14.9 million

• The “white-collar” unemployment rate has risen by more than a third since 2007

• The journalism industry has lost jobs at almost three times the average pace of monthly jobs lost in the general economy

• Underemployment (involuntary part-time workers) is at the all-time high of 16.8 Percent

VISUALS: